From 1946 to 1982, the five-building property served as a plastics manufacturing complex for a couple of companies, including Hooker, which was found to have dumped 21,000 tons of hazardous waste at its plant in Love Canal.

The Hicksville complex operated by Hooker, which was later bought by Occidental Chemical, was declared a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site in 1984, after evidence of pollution from heavy metals and PCBs turned up in groundwater tests, according to a DEC fact sheet.

As part of its remediation, the DEC plans to excavate soil at the site as deep as 10 feet down and dispose of any contaminated soil, replacing it with clean fill.

Following a request from the public at the DEC’s and state Department of Health’s March 20 meeting at the Bethpage Community Center, the agency issued a statement that moved the end of the comment period to April 30.